A week passed while rooting about the ruins, with nothing to show for it save a few bruises in scuffles with other scavengers over choice sites. Blades stayed sheathed thus far ? nothing found good enough to shed blood for.

However, this day was different, one of the party found a previously untouched door in the side of what once was a temple to Emperor Yhorn, as attested to by fancy runes carved into the crumbling marble.

In front of you is a large, stone door, with bronze hinges clearly visible and green with age. A metal plate is pierced with a keyhole near where presumably a latch resides.

Having prepared his spells for the day, Trach gathered his things in his pack and made himself ready for the day's adventure. Like many others on site, he was eager to explore the ruins beyond the stone door, but was content to wait until the sneaks had time to inspect it for any nasty suprises.

Trach gazed upon the inscriptions on the door's facade, absently pondering it's age.

"Let's crack this baby open" Kardan mused. The vaults of temples had a nasty habit of being trapped - as if the worshippers did not believe in their god's protection. Kardan did, and therefore carried the symbols of a dozen deities.

He advanced towards the door, feeling around, examining it, knocking here and there with his hammer to find hollow spaces; after making sure they were not in for some unpleasant surprise, he'd probe the lock with his tools. "Inviting yourself in, whether into treasuries or ladies' rooms, is always entertaining."

Logged

"Captain, the buttocks are moving from the pink into the red and purple spectrum! We cannot maintain this rate of spanking any longer!"

After satisfying himself that no unseen dangers were in the door itself, Kardan probed the lock. Almost immediately the lock gave a satisfying click.

A yank on the door, however, was not so satisfying. A loud sproing sound , as if some mechanical device had failed to operate, and the door held fast. It had moved an inch, but failed to yield to the rogues effort to open it.

"No, let me examine the mechanism further; not all traps will be as age-worn as this one."The trap had to block the door somehow, probably having popped up a slab of stone behind the door, or something.

Logged

"Captain, the buttocks are moving from the pink into the red and purple spectrum! We cannot maintain this rate of spanking any longer!"

Kardan's examination showed the answer was more mundane then that. The door was simply stuck. Perhaps an earthquake had shifted the frame, or the door, but for whatever reason, the door seemed a little jammed.

Jammed too was a blade trap - the hairline channel the blade should have scythed through (and subsequently Kardan's head) had also shifted and jammed the blade.

Trudge nodded and lumbered forward. Gripping the door by an exposed edge, he heaved hard. The door fought hard and as Trudge struggled with it, the top hinge gave way. The door began to topple outwards and Trudge wisely stepped out of the way, letting gravity finish the job. The door crashed down, twisting the second hinge and the once-stuck blade slashed out at empty air.

Kardan lit a lantern; holding it steady in his left hand, rapier ready in the right, he carefully advanced into the murky gloom, on the lookout for other unwelcome surprizes, beckoning the others to follow when he felt it was safe.Under his shirt, a dozen medallions of various gods of trickery, larceny and fortune filled him with confidence. Did he not steal the emerald-adorned charm of Dame Chance from a fat merchant whom She apparently no longer favored? He did. Did he not bet it in gambling whenever the stakes were high and he had "that" feeling of Her presence? He did, and it always came back, accompanied by shiny coin and sparkling jewel; from those he always let a priest have a pick.

Confident, he braved the depths.

Logged

"Captain, the buttocks are moving from the pink into the red and purple spectrum! We cannot maintain this rate of spanking any longer!"

It was definitely a temple. His dim light still managed to illuminate the gilded imperial statue which was managing to hold up the sagging stone roof. Nearby were rows of pews, largely destroyed by falling blocks from the cealing, and the occasional skeletal hand stretched out from beneath the rubble. An altar lay atop a raised dais, and an inlaid wooded door stood behind it.